The file manager supports all removable media on Linux that have the following characteristics:
The removable media has an entry in the /etc/fstab file. The /etc/fstab file describes the file systems that the computer uses.
The user option is specified in the entry for the removable media in the /etc/fstab file.
To mount media is to make the file system of the media available for access. When you mount media, the data stored on the media becomes accessible from your file manager.
To mount media, insert the media in the appropriate device. An object that represents the media is added to the desktop background. The object is added only if your system is configured to mount the device automatically when media is detected.
If your system is not configured to mount the device automatically, you must mount the device manually. Double-click on This Computer and then double-click on the icon that represents the media. For example, to mount a CD-ROM, click Launch, then choose This Computer -> CD-ROM.
You cannot change the name of a removable media object.
You can display media contents in any of the following ways:
Double-click on the object that represents the media on the desktop background.
Right-click on the object that represents the media on the desktop background, then choose Open.
A file manager window displays the contents of the media. To reload the display, click on the Reload button from the toolbar in a file browser window. Alternatively, choose View -> Reload to reload and update the view of the media contents in the window.
To display the properties of removable media, right-click on the object that represents the media on the desktop background, then choose Properties. A dialog displays the properties of the media.
To close the properties dialog, click Close.
To format media is to prepare the media for use with a particular file system. You can use the file manager to format floppy diskettes.
When you format media, you overwrite any existing information on the media.
To format a floppy diskette, perform the following steps:
Insert the diskette in the diskette drive. Mount the diskette. For information on how to mount media, see To Mount Media on Linux.
Right-click on the object that represents the diskette on the desktop background, then choose Format.
Select your format options in the Floppy formatter dialog. The following table describes the elements on the dialog:
Click Format to format the diskette.
To eject media, right-click on the media object on the desktop background, then choose Eject. If the drive for the media is a motorized drive, the media is ejected from the drive. If the drive for the media is not motorized, wait until the desktop background object for the media disappears, then eject the media manually.
You cannot eject media from a motorized drive when the media is mounted. To eject media, first unmount the media. To remove a floppy diskette from the drive, perform the following steps:
Close all file manager windows, Terminal
windows, and any other windows that access the diskette.
Right-click on the object that represents the diskette on the desktop background, then choose Eject. The desktop background object for the diskette disappears.
Eject the diskette from the drive.
If you eject the diskette from the drive before you unmount the diskette, you might lose the data on the diskette.